Chapter 136: The Luxury Cruise Ship and the Mysterious Girl

Chapter 136: Chapter 136: The Luxury Cruise Ship and the Mysterious Girl

"The top of the world is still a bit too far away."

"I haven’t even made a name for myself in Kalos yet."

After bidding farewell to the two, Sora set off toward Shalour City’s harbor with Magearna, Ogerpon, and the invisible Victini.

"Have a safe trip, Master~~!"

"I’ll come find you as soon as possible~~!"

Korrina’s voice drifted from behind.

Without turning around, Sora simply waved his hand.

The grandfather and granddaughter stood there, watching him leave until his figure completely disappeared from sight.

"What an incredible young man."

Gurkinn sighed.

"Kalos’s future... will depend on him."

"Grandpa?"

"In recent years, the strength of the Kalos League has declined severely."

Gurkinn said,

"Diantha is certainly talented, but she spends far too much of her energy acting."

Sometimes, the old man genuinely wondered whether Diantha was a professional Trainer or a professional actress.

Trying to excel at both?

How could one ever reach the pinnacle of the Trainer’s path that way?

"With talent like hers, yet letting it go to waste..."

Gurkinn valued Sora not because of seniority or favoritism.

It was because Sora possessed genuine determination to walk the Trainer’s path.

That ambition.

That drive.

Those were things Gurkinn respected.

And because of that, he wanted to help.

"Hm. Looks like it’s time for me to visit the League a little more often."

Gurkinn turned to Korrina.

"I heard Princess Kimia has been promoting a certain initiative."

"Can you explain it to me in detail?"

The Kalos League was far from a monolithic organization.

The Azoth Kingdom was one of the forces that composed it.

And certainly not the strongest one.

The fact that even a place like Shalour Gym possessed considerable influence made that obvious.

Sora had chosen the Nebel Plateau.

Chosen the Azoth Kingdom.

Chosen Shalour Gym.

That meant he stood on their side.

Or rather—

he would become their hope.

They would use every resource available to help pave the road ahead for him.

Gurkinn could already vaguely see Kalos’s future.

"With that young man’s personality..."

"When the time comes, he’ll probably beat up the entire Kalos region equally."

Just imagining it made him grin.

Good.

Very good.

It would be best if he beat everyone senseless.

There’s no reason I should be the only one who got flattened by him.

The old man chuckled to himself.

After dumping the work onto his granddaughter, he returned to studying Sora’s notes.

Those notes were truly treasures.

Even someone of Gurkinn’s experience had gained considerable insight from them.

Especially now.

Lucario had already touched the threshold of Level 80.

Combined with Sora’s teachings, Gurkinn felt more confident than ever.

I owe him such a huge favor...

How am I supposed to repay it?

For some reason, his thoughts drifted toward Korrina.

If all else fails...

I’ll just send the girl over to pay the debt.

Unaware of Gurkinn’s dangerous line of thinking, Sora arrived at Shalour Harbor and began searching for the ship Korrina had booked for him.

Yes.

A cruise ship.

And not just any cruise ship.

The most luxurious liner in Shalour City.

In terms of scale, it was comparable to the famous S.S. Anne from the anime—

perhaps even more extravagant.

"So huge!"

"Poniiii~!"

Standing before the massive vessel, Sora, Ogerpon, and Magearna all tilted their heads upward in amazement.

"Didi-doo?"

"Yes."

"This is the ship we’ll be taking."

After checking the ticket in his hand, Sora joined the boarding line with his Pokémon.

Along the way, some people noticed Ogerpon and Magearna.

However, Trainers keeping Pokémon outside their Poké Balls was common enough.

No one paid much attention.

At most, they were curious about what species the two Pokémon were.

"What’s that?"

Meanwhile—

a small figure quietly slipped into the boarding line.

She appeared to be around ten years old.

Her skin was dark.

Her black hair was cut into a short bob.

The clothes she wore were clearly oversized, making it look as though a child had borrowed an adult’s outfit.

"Hm?"

As the ticket checkpoint approached, Sora suddenly felt something was off and glanced back.

A bright smile greeted him.

He didn’t recognize the little girl.

Still, he politely nodded and smiled in return.

"Sir, please present your ticket."

"Here—"

Sora was about to hand it over when the employee’s expression abruptly became respectful.

"My apologies, honored guest."

"Please allow me to escort you to the First-Class VIP Lounge."

"Uh..."

Sora paused mid-motion.

He hadn’t expected Korrina to buy him that kind of ticket.

Seeing that the staff member had no intention of inspecting it further, he awkwardly put the ticket away and followed her toward the special cabin area.

"Ponii ponii~!"

"Mana~!"

The two little Pokémon were in exceptionally high spirits.

Everything they saw was new and exciting.

"Ah, excuse me."

The attendant suddenly looked behind Sora.

"Where is your companion?"

"My companion?"

Sora glanced at Ogerpon.

Then at Magearna.

Then felt the familiar weight resting on his shoulder.

All three Pokémon were present.

No one was missing.

"Yes."

"The young lady who boarded with you."

"Huh?"

Sora froze.

He quickly turned around, utterly baffled.

What did she mean by a young lady who boarded with him?

Hadn’t he come alone?

"My companions are all right here."

He gestured toward Ogerpon and Magearna.

"What young lady are you talking about?"

"Eh?"

"Hm?"

At that moment—

Sora and the attendant stared at each other.

Almost simultaneously, realization dawned on both of them.

"A stowaway!"

"That girl who was behind me!"

The attendant and Sora reacted at the same time.

The difference was that Sora merely felt speechless.

The attendant, however, immediately panicked.

Because of their mistake—an unidentified person had slipped aboard the ship.

"Wait... that actually worked?"

Sora never imagined something like this could happen.

Only now did he realize why that little girl had been standing behind him earlier.

She had been watching the ticket in his hand.

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